A LOW-flying RAF plane travelling low over the Pendle countryside last night prompting panic-stricken residents to call 999.

Police said five people contacted them to report an ‘exceptionally’ low aircraft flying above their homes between 8.45pm and 9.15pm.

One caller said the plane was so low that they could make out the pilot in the cockpit, officers said.

An RAF spokesman today confirmed a Hercules plane from RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire, had been on a standard low-flying exercise in the area.

Following concerns raised by residents in Nelson and Colne, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is to ask the Defence Flying Complaints Investigation Team, a specialist arm of the Military Police, to look into whether any breach of regulations took place.

According to Inspector David Davenport, of Burnley Police, a handful of callers gave varying descriptions of the plane.

The first caller claimed to have seen a large plane at 400ft emitting ‘clouds of smoke’ and heading towards Boulsworth Hill.

A second person reported a plane at 500ft over Thursden Valley ‘banking sharply to the left’.

The next caller insisted that the aircraft was ‘lower than a nearby chimney at 100ft’ and claimed it was so low ‘they could see the pilot’.

Another resident reported seeing a plane at 250ft and then the final caller at 9.15pm, who rang from West Yorkshire, told police they thought it was a military aircraft similar to a Hercules transport plane.

Under UK regulations it is prohibited for a fix-wing aircraft like the Hercules model to fly at a separation distance of under 250ft.

Andrew Stephenson, MP for Pendle, vowed to find out exactly what the aircraft was doing.

He said: “I know the MoD and RAF have strict regulations with low-flying training exercises, which are key to part of what they do.

"They are strict because of the nuisance they can cause.

“I can certainly do a bit more digging to find out more.”